Project: Shiro

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by 68basket

I like it!

Originally Posted by duallyjams

See told ya taking it apart is fun, three generation of help.

Originally Posted by jasonhall

Awesome ! Gonna love watching it come together.

Originally Posted by GAc10boy

Oh yeah!

Originally Posted by slowcpe

Nice progress. I just started to disassemble today myself.

Originally Posted by knomadd

IT's been a while since I checked in, but it looks like you've done a LOT! Good work!

Originally Posted by crawdadfox

Go Buck Go!! 10 months till Cruisin' The Coast..

Thanks gents I'm looking forward to knocking out some rivets... said no one ever!!

[darkhorse970]

Originally Posted by Bucks68

Thanks gents I'm looking forward to knocking out some rivets... said no one ever!!

I would highly recommend getting a good Air Hammer (Mac Tools or Snap-on). I fought rivets with the cheaper brands and it was torture. I never dreamed how much better the Mac w/good bits would cut through them until I tried one. Literally made the job EASY! I removed 10 rivets in less than an hour the first time I had a quality tool to work with. It cuts through them like butter, no grinding, drilling, or cutoff wheels needed.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Bucks68

Mike, I would like to bend your ear sometime regarding my sheet metal. I just want to make sure I do this in the correct order. Hart_Rod has offered to give me a hand with it and that will help a lot, but I figure too much info is better than not enough!

Sure Buck,
Anything I can do to help. Just fire away. I know all the little things I would do different on my next one

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Sure Buck,
Anything I can do to help. Just fire away. I know all the little things I would do different on my next one

I know I have cab corners, the area where the floor, inner, and outer rockers meet, outer rockers, and finally at least one lower kick panel to fix. If you go back through the pics I posted (posts 169 and 170) of the rust and the pics below you can see what I'm up against.

Forward end of passenger inner rocker


Closer look at passenger side inner rocker


Driver side inner rocker


Closer look at driver side inner rocker

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Bucks68

I know I have cab corners, the area where the floor, inner, and outer rockers meet, outer rockers, and finally at least one lower kick panel to fix. If you go back through the pics I posted (posts 169 and 170) of the rust and the pics below you can see what I'm up against.

Looks like you have your work cut out for you on the rust repair. Are you planning on removing all the undercoating and blasting the whole cab? You probably won't really know how bad the rust is until you get it to bare metal.

You're probably well aware of the poor quality and fitment of foreign patches and rockers. You have to cut and fit almost all of them to get a nice seam at your doors. I had really good luck with Tabco made in USA cab corners. They fit great and are made of good quality steel. I bought them back in the early 2000s so I don't know how the modern versions are as far as fit.
My rockers and kick panels came from Tri plus. The rockers needed a lot of love and the kick panels were terrible, especially the passenger side. I ended up sawing up to get it to fit. I haven't used any of their pieces yet but I have heard good things about AMD panels.
From my experience, you have to custom fit about all the patches. I recommend being patient and taking your time. Good luck!

[C10_ustacould]

Tonight was a health night, I had to rest up. But I did unpacked some of the goodies tonight. I think my project for tomorrow night will be the rear notch.

My RideTech coilovers..


Surveying the landscape for the Porterbuilt mild notch.

[1980c-10 mybaby]

did the suspension kit you ordered cone with new trailing arms? or is that an option when you go to order?

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by 1980c-10 mybaby

did the suspension kit you ordered cone with new trailing arms? or is that an option when you go to order?

They come in the kit.

[nlped]

I used a cheaper ingersol rand air chisel, but I did buy a good bit and I cut EVERY single rivet on my frame in one day. And the way I remember that day... there are BILLIONS of them. I've done the grinder way, the torch way and I have to say the air chisel was hands down the fastest & cleanest way I've done it.

Glad to see your back on it too...

[nlped]

I've heard really good things about Southern Kentucky Classics

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looks like you have your work cut out for you on the rust repair. Are you planning on removing all the undercoating and blasting the whole cab? You probably won't really know how bad the rust is until you get it to bare metal.

You're probably well aware of the poor quality and fitment of foreign patches and rockers. You have to cut and fit almost all of them to get a nice seam at your doors. I had really good luck with Tabco made in USA cab corners. They fit great and are made of good quality steel. I bought them back in the early 2000s so I don't know how the modern versions are as far as fit.
My rockers and kick panels came from Tri plus. The rockers needed a lot of love and the kick panels were terrible, especially the passenger side. I ended up sawing up to get it to fit. I haven't used any of their pieces yet but I have heard good things about AMD panels.
From my experience, you have to custom fit about all the patches. I recommend being patient and taking your time. Good luck!

Originally Posted by nlped

I've heard really good things about Southern Kentucky Classics

I have a set of NOS outter rockers and a set of TriPlus cab corners I got from AMD. I need to order the rest but I'm not sure how far I need to go into the floor on each side. The floor is pitted on bothsides between the toe board and were it kicks up at the seat mount and the passenger side cab mount whole is cracked/torn. What do you think is a good plan for replacement? Should I cut it all out and go back with the new or do it in stages?

[duallyjams]

check out this thread http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=564201 there is a lot of great info on doing metal work

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Bucks68

I have a set of NOS outter rockers and a set of TriPlus cab corners I got from AMD. I need to order the rest but I'm not sure how far I need to go into the floor on each side. The floor is pitted on bothsides between the toe board and were it kicks up at the seat mount and the passenger side cab mount whole is cracked/torn. What do you think is a good plan for replacement? Should I cut it all out and go back with the new or do it in stages?

Personally, I prefer to keep as much Gm metal as possible. Your best bet might be to just use patches. The whole floor is nice but it's pretty big deal to drill all the spot welds.

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Personally, I prefer to keep as much Gm metal as possible. Your best bet might be to just use patches. The whole floor is nice but it's pretty big deal to drill all the spot welds.

I'm going to buy replacement floor panel sections for both the driver and passenger side, the outer extensions (inner rocker), and the foot-well panels (kick panels). When I have my Porterbuilt parts installed and my chassis back together I will put the cab back on the frame with new bushing, torque it down, and do my rust repair. My plan is to start by removing the rockers (inner/outer) and then the floor section. After that I will work my way back out to the outer rocker with my new panels. Make sense? Or should I cut out sections, replacing only the damaged areas and not necessarily the entire panel?

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Bucks68

I'm going to buy replacement floor panel sections for both the driver and passenger side, the outer extensions (inner rocker), and the foot-well panels (kick panels). When I have my Porterbuilt parts installed and my chassis back together I will put the cab back on the frame with new bushing, torque it down, and do my rust repair. My plan is to start by removing the rockers (inner/outer) and then the floor section. After that I will work my way back out to the outer rocker with my new panels. Make sense? Or should I cut out sections, replacing only the damaged areas and not necessarily the entire panel?

The plan you have mapped out is probably the best option in my opinion. I like the idea of doing the repairs on the frame with it level and mounted solid. Before you start any cutting of spot welds, I would recommend rebuilding your door hinges (with GM pins and bushing) then mount your doors and adjust your gaps as close as you can.

Also, I would tack weld in some braces in the door opening before you even cut anything loose. On mine I just took a bunch of measurements and it worked out okay. I also have a few extra cabs laying around that I can measure for reference, which is handy.

In hindsight, I would have spent more time fitting my doors. I had a few issues with the rockers and the door gaps that really should have been addressed before I finished bodywork. I ended up adjusting my passenger side door up after the truck was assembled. What a pain! I didn't even know the door was hitting the rocker until it started scuffing the clear coat.
For reference HERE is where I tried to fit up my driver side door for the final time. For the record, I also only used GM panels, no aftermarket stuff. This tells us back in the day GM had pretty loose tolerance for fit up of our trucks.
I fit the passenger side too, I just didn't notice the door was contacting the rocker until it was shiny

Sorry for the novel but just know this, I learned a ton about what not to do. I will help you any way I can when you go to making sparks.

[lolife99]

BucK, I assumed you got this version of the rear coilover dropmember?
Why such a small rear notch?

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by lolife99

BucK, I assumed you got this version of the rear coilover dropmember?
Why such a small rear notch?

LOL, I should have, it's too late now! I went with the mild drop because I don't want to deal with cutting or raising the bed floor. I thought I was getting outboard mounted coilovers but after looking at some of my parts I don't think that is the case. Matters not, I am going to press on and get this thing done because crawdadfox threw down the challenge... Cruisin' the Coast 2015!

[C10_ustacould]

Well, I didn't really get anything done to the truck tonight but I did make progress. The I6 is GONE!! Thanks to Track70's Dad for giving it a second chance! So with that gone I was able to get the cab stowed in the garage so my queen can park her inside... Happy wife, happy life. I also received my CPP Big Brake kit from Tommy at TnT-MotorSports (ksbrktracer).





So maybe tomorrow night I can get at that notch.

[1980c-10 mybaby]

if your looking to sell your old trailing arms let me know... my 69 suburban trailing arms are done. one just snapped in half from all the rust

im hoping they are the same length if you are looking to sell them

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by 1980c-10 mybaby

if your looking to sell your old trailing arms let me know... my 69 suburban trailing arms are done. one just snapped in half from all the rust

im hoping they are the same length if you are looking to sell them

I will inspect them and let you know what condition they are in, no cracks etc. The shipping may be a little steep. If I do sell them I will list them in the classified section offering you first refusal on them, sound fair?

[1980c-10 mybaby]

Originally Posted by Bucks68

I will inspect them and let you know what condition they are in, no cracks etc. The shipping may be a little steep. If I do sell them I will list them in the classified section offering you first refusal on them, sound fair?

its only about a 5 hr drive from where im located at. but yes let me know how they look. im not in a rush honestly the burban sits for months at a time anyways lol

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by 1980c-10 mybaby

its only about a 5 hr drive from where im located at. but yes let me know how they look. im not in a rush honestly the burban sits for months at a time anyways lol

I'll let you know.

[C10_ustacould]

I got taken in by the cyber Monday hype...

[lolife99]

Sweet^^^

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Sweet^^^

X2!
Very nice